North Rockland High School's Steven Hegner, named Boys Soccer Boys Soccer Rockland player of the year, at North Rockland HS on Nov 29, 2012. ( John Meore/The Journal News )

Written by

Vincent Z. Mercogliano

Early in the preseason, North Rockland's first-year coach Chris Dwyer pulled senior goalkeeper Steven Hegner aside to check on his confidence level. The question he posed wasn't meant to be taken literally, but rather to gauge the psyche of his most important player.

"He had lapses in the past, so I asked him if we should bring up our JV keeper," Dwyer recalled from the first week of practice. "He said, 'No way,' and from then on, I never questioned him."

Hegner had never been very outspoken, but Dwyer could sense his self-belief through the way that he shot down the notion of needing to be pushed. ...